Display device



Patented Dec. 22, 1953 DISPLAY DEVICE Stuart S. J oslyn, Chester, Conn., assignor to C. J. Bates & Son, Chester, Conn., a firm composed of Hamilton C. Bates, Wells 0. Bates, and Hamilton C. Bates, Jr.

Application October 10, 1951, Serial N0. 250,733

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in display devices for jewelry and the like and has for its essential objects the provision of a means for displaying objects in a manner more conspicuous and more pleasing than that afforded by the ordinary and conventional display devices such as used by merchants in counter and/or Window displays.

My invention offers the further advantage of providing a device which is readily collapsible or capable of being disassembled so as to occupy a minimum of space in packing and transporting and attains these ends in a structure which is easy to manipulate and simple and inexpensive to construct.

My invention relates to display devices generally and it has more particular reference to means for holding a sheet of fabric or the like whereby it can be effectively arranged as a covering material, the main object being to provide a simple, cheap and compact device which may be conveniently utilized for the purposes specified.

Broadly, the invention relates to a supporting and sustaining means for supporting and sustaining a sheet of fabric material and more particularly it is directed to one characterized by the feature of retaining such sheet with the desired degree of tension relative to the support member together with certain other features as will be hereinafter pointed out in this specification.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a device of the class described having a very simple and efficient construction, one which is reliable in its use, inexpensive in its manufacture, strong and durable, easy to manipulate and well adapted for the purposes for which it is designed.

Another objection to decorative or display devices of the types now available to merchants is that they are relatively expensive and are of such construction that it is difficult to obtain a' variety of effects therewith.

By means of the structure of my invention, display devices or component pieces thereof may be economically produced. Further, they have an adaptability for convenient and easy adjustment of the relative parts whereby a plurality of different configurations or effects can be obtained with a minimum number of different component pieces. Thus my invention teaches an improved display device and method of producing the same which not only possesses all of the attributes of the old form of display device but also otfersa' structure wherein the cost of manufacture thereof is materially reduced.

While the invention, for the sake of convenience, is illustrated as embodying a rectangular supporting member so as to produce rectangular shaped objects, it will be readily understood that the members may assume other desired shapes and it will be further understood that the device may be employed for purposes other than for display purposes or may be embodied in combination with other mechanisms and/or structures as will occur to those skilled in the art and therefore this invention finds a wide field of utility for other purposes than the specific ones herein discussed.

This invention is further characterized by the? provision of a structure which may be produced, in one of several ways and therefore as this description proceeds I will embody therein brief) references to certain alternate preferred meth-- ods for making the device of this invention.

With the foregoing objects in view, my inven-- tion consists essentially of a support memberhaving side and end edges transversely slotted to receive the end edges of support covering material adapted to be folded over the said support member, the same being so arranged as to provide a means for grippingly engaging the support covering material and holding it in the desired covering position.

All of the above objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangements of parts thereof, as will fully appear by a perusal of the description below and by various specific features which will be hereinafter set forth.

To the above cited and other ends and with' the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claim hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the support memberof the device showinga covering material associated therewith;

prises a section of an expanded plastic material-I16 which may be of any desired dimensions o s l arre, depending on the particular purpose for which in tended and/or efiect desireditabepobtained; all as will presently be observed;

The material used in the --support be an expanded plastic material composed of cellular cellulose acetate, plyvinyl elgloride phenolicresin, or polystyrene.

These materials have each been introducedintothe market in recent years and have the im- 20 prQVd-.properties..so,. desirable. in .the practice of my invention.

An. expanded polystyrene; fen. example, has beenannounced. It is..a snow-white, 11611-11381,! meable, mu ticellulan. foamed. material 'havinga buoyancy making ,itesnecially.,suitablefor .advere tising. displays and, novelties. Being.v light in weight, the .cost of :its shipmentiscrelativelyt small as compared withdisplay, devices heretofore made of ,.wood, glass. or..met'a1-. The material isoutstanding in workinglabilityflthereby .facilitating fabrication or. lay-.up... Furthermore, if desired, it can be successfiillybonded.to wood, metal'or various othervmaterials. aswell :as to..itseli. Adhesives and cements for such operations are-nu merous .andlreadilylavailablefl Cellular .cellulosehctate. onthe other. hand,- is a core..material produced. byextrusion. It is an oriented; mnltieelln-lar form lofi'dcell ulose acetate developed topromotestructural-efficiency.

The plastic .material mla conditioner low; viscosity; is generally foamed by mechanical agitation..with .or withoiit foaming-magenta When; solidified; the. foamed mass retains its porousstructure. l k

In some instances, the materialis expanded by the. action. o'fi-ablowingagent. In other cases, a gas ,is dissolved in thelsof-tplastic mass under relatively .high-.pr'essiire. Upon release of the member may 15 "as aforesaid," it will be understood that other pressure, the mass is made porous by theegqz z ndso ing gas-, 'A'. subsequent hardening process fixes the .porousstructurel y Still another .method-.-of producingthis ma; terial .chnsistsof incorporating a soluble gen the plastic material.-. Aiter molding, this solid isleeched .out: by.solvents.

In .still another). method of producing porous plastics, afibrous 'or other bulky constituent mixed .witha .b'indingsubstarice'to produce a the capacity of being readily punctured by a pick or tool such as a knife, awl or the like. When, as will be presently observed, it is desired to pierce the member [0 as by a pin or other sharp pointed object, the pin may be made to remain erect at any desired angle relative to the member l0. 7

In other words, the material-has the capability of being easily punctured by means of pointed metal or wooden rod members, which are tubular or. quare or any other desired shape in crosssection, and of retaining the same in any desired .position.relativQthereto for any length of time.

Thesupport member I0 is of substantially the shape in;w t iszillustrated in Fig. 1 although shapes carrgo e used with varying results, obviously depending wholly on the desideratum relative to effector appearance. 7

For example, insteadzof a rectangular shape, the member. Ill could ;be-square, triangular, heart, diamondshaped, all. asmay be. desired. Then too,. themembermay b.e-. varied as.to its third di-' mension so as. to offer pyramids, cones and the like. Also, theside and end edgesil l 01. the. mem-. ber 10; insteadwf. presentingparallel fiatsurfaces which are at rightanglesto the .upperand lower faces as shown in Fig. 1, maytbe beveled or inclined .or even curved with-relation thereto.

Thesupport memberiln: is providedwitha. transverseslot or groovelz :upon each of its sides or! edges I l which slots-are in horizontal planes and extend the entire length. of each side.- They mined; wholly. by the-thickness of thematerial to;

be.receivablethereintos The slots are easily provided merely by means ot-a .knife. or similarsharptooland have only such widtha-and depth as tomake-it'possibleto insert-therein the edge of=a piece-offabric or like material whereby. the same is held inasnug;

manner, as will be subsequently'referred to;

. In. Speakingv of a fabric material-, it will be understood that other materials suchas leather,

papen orv the like havingyieldable characteristics can be substituted therefor with equally satisfactory results.

In:Fig..2, I have shown the ends oftwo pieces ofiiabriclon the like- 14 and lfi-which have been tucked into the-sloto-lz by means; of a knife or similar sharp tool capable of- =being insertable intothe slot. so as to introduce the yi elda-ble ,ma-v terial thereinto so as to be retained therein as porous. products The individual thermoplastic; the toolis withdrawn;

fibers are..bonded -togthen by adm ts-heat or solvenm, r 7

Regardless 012 the procedure by whicn the ex;

pandedplastic is developed,;the produ is ai'plasa tiemateriaL whieh-iscurrently avai1at1gpitilje' as, own e p i e-- reor=to -t e slfot 1| therein where .the- -fabric is again tucked so as to seepage-em hati Theiabric having-been inserted into the slot Hr onone side ofthemember-lmthe fabric is. of

sumcientlength-as to k be-then brought over around the side and top ofthe member -10 and provide. a tight fitting cover over the area .of jthe support. member: between the respective slots,

. That is;l;0 say,..the .yieldable' material; is applied,

tothe, support member--16 as shown in-Fig, 3 so as p e, the ime, edges. ofctheyieldable material ma a l llfiksdgjinto; the respective sl'0ts and se- .sm i amerety.

The fabric is pulled over the surface of the member to the desired degree of tautness by means of controlling the depth to which the material is inserted into the slot. By tucking the same tightly into the slots, it is possible to take up all of the slack. The fabric employed, of course, is of such dimension as to fit snugly over the area to be covered with only suflicient material as to permit the tucking to be accomplished.

The resilient nature of the support member will cause the edges of the fabric to be held within the slots.

This gripping action is aided by the fact that when the slots are made into the plastic material, the edges of the slots so produced are roughened due to the very nature of the material. The roughened surfaces of the slot permit an improved gripping or holding action on the fabric.

In Figs. 3 and 4, two pieces of fabric 14 and I6 are shown as covering a support member I0.

If desired, in order to create unusual effects, difierent colors or types of covering material may be used to cover a single block so as to produce an unusual effect consisting of a block covered with yieldable material of contrasting colors.

It will be further appreciated that the arrangement of parts is such that the entire support member including the corners may be completely covered and that there need be no projections of excess material on either the top or sides of the support member which extend outwardly therefrom when the structure is in the assembled position. This feature is of great value in allowing the device to be used in corners.

As a further feature of my invention, a pair or even more of the support members 10 may be covered as aforesaid. One or more connecting pins 20 are adapted to have their outer free ends puncturable through the yieldable fabric material and the support member in a. puncturing manner whereby two or more support members are held relative to each other in any one of a myriad number of relative positions whereby is obtained a variety of display effects.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

As a new article of manufacture, a display device comprising in combination, a unitary relatively rigid body formed from plastic material adapted to be impinged by implements, said body having opposite and adjacent side portions provided with a continuous relatively narrow groove therearound extending inwardly of said side portions and providing opposed substantially rigid friction faces at opposite sides of said groove, covering members'formed from flexible material covering said body and disposed on the sides of said body with each or" the adjacent marginal edges thereof in superposed relation in said groove and frictionally engaged by the friction faces thereof throughout the entire length thereof to hold said covering members from displacement on said body.

STUART S. J OSLYN.

References Cited in the file 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 409,744 Garben Aug. 27, 1899 646,824 Gerry Apr. 3, 1900 897,286 Hoskell Sept. 1, 1908 1,039,367 Dehn Sept. 24, 1912 1,509,381 Townsend Sept. 23, 1924 1,718,177 Nutt June 18, 1929 1,761,359 Nutt June 30, 1930 1,769,827 Dugdale July 1, 1930 1,916,634 Pajeau July 4, 1933 1,936,113 Jellifle Nov. 21, 1933 2,058,340 Miller Oct. 20, 1936 2,169,682 Duncan Aug. 15, 1939 2,178,381 Trinkle Oct. 31, 1939 2,366,377 Zois Jan. 2, 1945 2,426,329 Williams Aug. 26, 1947 2,538,776 Griswold Jan. 23, 1951 2,556,924 Karpen June 12, 1951 2,618,901 Braim Nov. 25, 1952 

